


Izumi's Daughter

by Thaliona



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Dishonorable Desires, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fire Nation Royal Family, Forbidden Love, Gen, Honor, Romance, Royal Obligations, Self-Sacrifice, Sexual Tension, Sibling Rivalry, Slow Burn, Whatever Happened to Sokka, emotionally stunted, friends to almost lovers, what is love?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-03-07 23:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13445442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thaliona/pseuds/Thaliona
Summary: After several months of working as Prince Wu's bodyguard, more like babysitter, Mako didn't think it could get any worse. Unfortunately, this sentiment turns out to be entirely false after insulting a frequent companion of the Earth Prince. With a personal vendetta already against him, the Fire Nation princess is thrilled to have her biases confirmed. However, for all her strategic genius, not even Izumi's daughter can plan for all the twists and turns of fate.





	1. The Tigerhawk & The Harecat

**Author's Note:**

> I binge-watched Korra then this happened. Deal with it? The focus is on Izumi's daughter and Mako, but I'll ultimately address (in my fanciful opinion that is not remotely canon) what happened to Sokka, who ended up being Fire Lady, how a prince of another country ends up as the main general of another nation, and where Naoki came from because it's just not fair San got the backstory.

Of all the challenges Mako had faced throughout his life, the latest was proving to be the most difficult. There were times he’d rather be facing Ming Hua and Amon simultaneously instead of dealing with his new project. For six blissful months after the Red Lotus Insurgence, Mako had returned to his normal detective duties. Adjusting to regular detective work compared to ‘Saving the World’ work had been surprisingly easy. Of course, nothing good ever lasts. Everything changed when Chief Beifong called him into her office for an unusual and unwanted assignment. President Raiko insisted it was an honor to have been hand selected by the Earth Prince as a bodyguard. 

It felt more like a perpetual migraine.

Mako missed the days of real detective work or saving the world with Team Avatar. For the past three months, he spent his days watching as Wu spent an excessive amount of money on parties entertaining the “Important People” of Republic City. Needless to say, they had very different opinions as to who qualified as an “important person.” 

Occasionally, they attended class at Republic City University. Wu’s nonchalant treatment towards receiving an education especially irked him. After their parents were murdered, even going back to primary school hadn’t been an option for him or his brother. And university? It wasn’t even a dream worth having for an orphan on the streets. Convincing himself that he didn’t want an education beyond the basics was easier than wishing things had been different. 

Still, it was harder to keep convinced of that fact while sitting in a classroom with someone who didn’t appreciate being there. Guarding Wu during his inane parties and countless shopping excursions was always easier than while at the university. Mako wasn’t jealous of the ‘society’ life, but while attending the classes Wu doodled through as a guard not a student, he let himself envy a university education.

Fortunately, if any day with Wu could be fortunate, today had been spent hosting yet another party comprised of Republic City’s most eligible bachelorettes. They were gathered in one of the airy sitting rooms of the hotel suite that was the prince’s home while attending Republic City University. Chaises were circled around a table filled with decadent desserts that, like usual, only Wu was eating. It was an entirely usual day of pretention and frivolity with the exception of two unusual guests.

Amid the sea of socialite women Wu had gathered for his soiree, a girl and an older woman from the Water Tribe weren’t the typical invitees. They stood apart from the others, lightly chatting with each other rather than the other guests. At least, he gathered they were Water Tribe given their blue attire and tanned complexions. The girl was extraordinarily plain looking from afar, but Mako was still surprised that Wu hadn’t tried pulling her into his flirtation circus. Maybe it was the presence of the older woman that kept him at bay. Despite graying at the temples, the woman carried herself in such a way that suggested age had only increased her odds in a fight. Her young companion had a less severe continence but remained poised in spite of the casual setting. 

Mako had missed their initial entrance but deduced they’d come with Kadlu Ilannaq, an oil magnate’s daughter from the Southern Water Tribe. His main clue being that the younger woman occasionally pretended not to see Kadlu’s pointed looks directed at her. The others were regulars from Republic City, but Kadlu was a special import. At present, the heiress was laughing too loudly at one of Wu’s jokes. Every inch of her being glittered with some piece of jewelry or another, but she wasn’t the only one ostentatiously dressed. Each of the women in the room was a pickpocket’s dream. Out of old habit but mostly boredom, Mako tried to settle on what each piece of jewelry would fetch on the streets.

Some of the pieces were most definitely fake, but Kadlu’s pieces were real even if her interest in Wu wasn’t. Well, Mako assumed it wasn’t but stranger things had happened. She’d come to Wu’s parties before, but this was the first time she’d brought company. The older one was definitely a bodyguard – either for Kadlu or for the small fortune that Kadlu had decided to adorn herself with today. That much was easy to tell by the way the woman regularly scanned the room almost unnoticeably while maintaining a steady conversation with Kadlu’s…attendant?

The attendant, who could have been anywhere between sixteen and twenty-six, had the polish of wealth but none of the flamboyance. With her hands clasped politely behind her back, head tilted with earnest focus on her companion’s words, she appeared more servant than socialite. It didn’t help that she had the stature of a sparrowmouse. Perhaps it was just her juxtaposition to the bodyguard’s solid build, but Mako mused that a strong gust of wind might be enough to topple her. 

Eventually, it dawned on him that the he had become the focus of the their attention. The bodyguard frowned at whatever comment the attendant had made to sufficiently end their conversation. Despite the clear disproval of her companion, the younger woman departed from the bodyguard with the clear intent of joining him in his corner of dutiful solitude. 

“You’re Mako, aren’t you? Forgive me, but I’ve seen your picture in the papers.” She politely inquired upon reaching her target. 

Mako fought back a heavy sigh. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d have to fend off one of Wu’s partygoers. It’s not that he wasn’t flattered, but he just didn’t have the emotional capacity to deal with women just yet. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be civil, and she was clearly a fan. Without the distance between them, it became apparent she wasn’t as plain as he’d first thought. She wasn’t Asami, or even Korra for that matter, but there was a delicacy to her viperfox-faced features that was appealing in its own way. 

However, something about her tightened a knot in his gut unexpectedly.

It was her eyes, he finally decided, having locked gaze with her for longer than socially acceptable. Behind gold wire-rim glasses, she had incredibly unsettling eyes. He’d expected them to be some obvious shade of blue, but they were hauntingly dark instead. If they were in fact some shade of blue, they’d stolen their color from the deepest depths of the ocean. Describing them as ‘dark brown’ didn’t quite justify the color either. There was something about her eyes beyond just their color – or perhaps it was just the intensity with which she studied him – that forced Mako to look away first.

“I am. “ His tone was a sharper than intended so to soften blow he added as an after thought: “are you here with Ms. Ilannaq?”

The woman dipped her head in affirmation, “she insisted. I’ve just arrived to Republic City and don’t know anyone else as of yet.”

“Ah, so you’re – ” Mako stumbled over how to finish his question without being insulting, but the woman salvaged the conversation for him.

“A friend of hers since childhood. Yes.” Thinly veiled amusement at his discomfort bubbled under a mask of courteous composure.

“So, what brings you to Republic City?” Mako wasn’t sure if he’d asked out of genuine curiosity or just to be polite. Admittedly, part of him wanted to know how someone who seemed so reserved could be friends with someone like Kadlu. 

“The university’s advanced engineering program. One of the greatest engineers of our times – maybe of all time, depending on who you ask – directs the program. I’ll have to teach a few undergraduate student classes as part of the requirement, but I’m looking forward to it...” She explained without further prompting, gaze drifting back to the centerpiece that was Wu. “…even if not all the students intend to take their studies seriously.” 

Mako stifled a laugh at the royal’s expensive by clearing his throat. “I doubt Prince Wu will be taking any of your classes, Ms…” 

“Talo, and I’ve not yet had the pleasure of teaching Prince Wu, but there’s still time.”

“Ms. Talo.” For whatever reason, the name rang a bell, but he couldn’t place why. After a moment of pondering, Mako decided it didn’t really matter. “How long is the program?” 

“Just ‘Talo’ will suffice, and that all depends on how quickly I finish my work. I’m hoping to finish in four years or so. We’ll see, but I’ve always wanted to spend more time in Republic City. My brother lives here, and I’ve visited before for brief stays.” 

“I’ve never lived anywhere else and wouldn’t ever want to honestly. It has everything you could want and then some. There’s no place else like it, but there’s definitely some places that aren’t safe.” He caught himself before adding ‘for someone like you.’ She may not deck herself out in jewels, but it was obvious she had some wealth. Her petite size alone would make her target for some unsavory sorts. Not that size necessarily mattered, but she didn’t strike him as someone skilled in self-defense.

“I could certainly use a guide if Prince Wu could spare you some time. My brother’s in the United Forces, so he’s away often, and Kadlu’s going home in the next few weeks. It would be nice to know someone familiar with the city.” 

Mako withdrew from her instinctively, sighing again befor falling silent for a long moment. “Look, Talo, you seem really nice, but I’m just not interested in dating right now. It’s not you. It’s me.” He prepared himself for a disappointed response, some crestfallen pout or maybe even a dejected tearful gaze. 

Instead, Talo’s face twisted into something knowingly baleful, and the dark eyes gleamed with something almost like malice. “You are as full of yourself as I thought you would be.”

“What – I…no…no, I’m not…you – ” Why was he even going to try to argue this with her? He felt his face getting hot as she continued to stare him down with a hard gaze that burrowed into his deepest insecurities. 

“I know this may come as a shock...” She pressed on with the patience of a tigerhawk circling a harecat, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Each word was as carefully selected as a Pai Sho master’s move during a heated game. “But not every woman who speaks to you is looking for a date. Women aren’t objects that exist solely for your entertainment.”

Before he could respond, Kadlu purred out to them: “stop harassing the poor boy, Talo.” The heiress had propped herself up to better watch the confrontation, half-draped over the raised back of the fainting couch. Mako balked at both being called a boy and having the opulent heiress come to his defense, but kept his mouth shut. In truth, he wasn’t entirely ungrateful for the rescue. 

“I’m not harassing him,” Talo cocked her head in Kadlu’s direction but kept her focus still pinned on her prey. “He’s being presumptuous.”

“Oh, what, did he insult your honor?” Kadlu emphasized ‘honor’ with a tilting accent that deviated from natural tones. Red-stained lips curled over the taunt as if she was savoring a favorite candy rather than a pointed quip. 

“Hilarious. Really.” Talo meandered to couch on which her friend laid and gracefully seated herself on the edge at her friend’s feet. In response, Kadlu returned to a proper lounging position – Mako and the confrontation no longer of interest. “If your father ever cuts you off, you should consider becoming a stand-up comedian. I hear that’s all the rage these days.”

“You think so, my dear? I have always felt that I belong on a stage but being a mere comedian seems beneath me. I could be an actress you know, even Father agrees.” 

Talo snorted quietly, “every place you put yourself becomes a stage, Kadlu. I’m sure that Ginger has nightmares of you deciding to take up acting and usurping her reign of the silver screen.”

“Oh, I agree, and that fake hair color of hers is so tacky. What do you think, Wu, darling?” Kadlu turned her attention away from Talo and back to her host, seated on a chaise across from her. The other guests – young women of various statuses but not so high as the ‘Oil Princess’ – murmured their agreement that Kadlu could be a star of the silver screen if she wanted. 

Prince Wu enthusiastically nodded, “oh, absolutely. Both about the hair and your acting. I know talent when I see it, it takes talent to know talent you know, and you’re very talented.” 

“Well, that settles it. I could be the next big movie star. If I wanted to, of course, but I don’t. Yet.” 

Mako still felt vaguely numb as the whirlwind encounter ended, and he was spared further confrontation. Had he been presumptuous? Why was there a nagging feeling he should know her? Even more bothersome, now that Talo had joined the group, the gravitational pull of the partygoers’ attention centered on her. Even Wu seemed deferential, in his own special way, and Wu never gave up the spotlight for anyone. It made as much sense as the garnet ties used to fasten the traditionally Water Tribe style plait into which her black hair had been braided.

_“I cannot believe we got to meet Lord Zuko. THE Lord Zuko. Meeting his grandson was ah-mah-zing too! But, Lord Zuko! Did you know he has a granddaughter? Apparently, she’s the Crown Princess but like fifteen years younger than the General, which is crazy because I would not have guessed Iroh was so old. I wonder what his secret is… “_

The memory of his brother nattering on in excitement burst through his thoughts like a battering ram. Mako had known that Lord Zuko had a granddaughter. In fact, he knew all about her. 

Crown Princess Ta Lona of the Ryujin Dynasty was a brilliant strategist, science devotee, and advocate for the common people. She was a vegetarian who occasionally ate fish but didn’t like it when different food groups touched. When she took the throne, it would be the first time in recorded history that the Fire Lord was a non-bender. Even after her paternal grandfather’s passing, Ta Lona spent every summer in the South Pole with his people and was notably comfortable with embracing her Southern Water Tribe roots. To balance concerns about her suitability as heir, the princess arranged a marriage with the Fire Nation’s new favorite son, General Nian. According to the tabloids, the engagement was quite popular, and the previous backlash of the ‘second choice royal’ being named heir after the first choice abdicated in favor of serving as a general in another nation’s military had since subsided.

Mako knew all this because Korra had told him about the Crown Princess in great detail – including the fact that she was the one who’s youthful inability to pronounce the princess’s full name resulted in Ta Lona going by ‘Talo’ among friends and family.

Those bells attached to her name hadn’t been chimes – they’d been warning sirens. 

It never seemed intentional, but Talo was woven into every-day conversations via the most mundane facts imaginable. They were such little things, but that Korra had someone to know those little things about was what had mattered. For that reason, Mako never brought up how he didn’t care that the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation was allergic to nuts no matter how many times Korra mentioned it or any other random fact that was vaguely related to their conversation. 

As Korra put it, Talo’s summer visits were one of the few things that made being separated from the rest of the world for so long moderately bearable. For a few months each year, Korra was allowed to have a friend besides Naga. After all, the White Lotus couldn’t deny the Fire Nation princess access to the Avatar. 

Moreover, the White Lotus had hoped that Talo would be a good influence on the temperamental Avatar. Composed. Respectful. Thoughtful. Mako recalled how Korra hard laughed upon reciting the White Lotus’ litany of praise for Talo and their hopes that she might rub off on her. 

Needless to say, it hadn’t worked. 

Despite their difference in personality and age, the friendship between the Avatar and the Fire Nation’s Crown Princess had remained steadfast throughout the years. Even after Korra escaped to Republic City, they kept in touch. He could only imagine what Talo knew about his relationship with the Avatar…

It took a moment for Mako to realize the half-choked sound that resembled a harpooned walruswhale’s dying wail was coming from him. All eyes were on him, including Talo’s, and Mako wouldn’t have minded if the floor opened up beneath him in that moment. 

“Are you going to be sick? Because don’t be on the carpet. Supposedly, they’re hard to clean. Not that I’d be cleaning them, but it might smell, and you know,” Wu snapped his fingers to get the attention of one of the housekeepers and motioned towards Mako. “He needs a bucket, or something, but not one of the nice ice buckets.”

“I’m not sick. I just…” Realized who he had insulted and why she reacted so vehemently. 

“Are you sure? You look pale. Paler than usual for you, which is pretty pale.”

“I’m fine, your highness.” 

Once Wu no longer had to worry about his carpets, the royal turned his attention back to shamelessly flirting with his retinue, and Mako was forgotten by all but Talo. She watched him from the corner of those too-dark eyes, expressionless. He would have preferred if she looked smug or entertained. The nothingness of her expression unsettled him more than if she had been gloating.

If he apologized, she’d just think it was because of who she was and not because he was genuinely sorry. Moreover, what would he really be apologizing to her for anyway? Maybe he’d jumped to conclusions, but maybe she’d set him up just to test him. He really wasn’t in a good place with his personal life, and he really was trying to figure out who he was without Korra or Asami. It wasn’t easy. He hadn’t meant to hurt either of them, and part of him did still love Kora. He really had loved her, or at least, he thought it had been love. It had felt like love at the time, or rather, what he thought love should feel like based on his limited understanding of the emotion.

He’d never had the opportunity to talk to someone about what love should feel like or how a person knew they were in love or even just about relationships in general. Mako only vaguely remembered observing his parents and their gentle affections for each other and their children. Their love had made him feel safe. 

Their love felt like home. 

Mako hadn’t truly felt either way since they died, but he wrote those feelings off as just being the product of parental love. Romantic love had to be different, right? Mako had viewed himself as being the protector for those that he cared about for so long that it never occurred to him that someone else could make him feel safe or even that a partner should make him feel safe and not just the other way around. His whole identity was so wrapped up on the notion of protecting, of caretaking, of never disappointing anyone, that the very idea of being vulnerable with someone frightened him to the point he’d rather have his teeth pulled out than open up. 

If he was truly honest with himself (which was rare), he knew that’s why both his relationship had failed – in addition to the cheating. He wasn’t capable of being honest about his feelings with anyone else because he could barely be honest about them with himself. It was easier to bury those feelings than deal with them head on because they were signs of weakness, and he couldn’t protect the people he loved if he was weak.

In hindsight, maybe that led to the cheating on Asami and subsequent issues with Korra in the first place. 

Not that he believed in such nonsense – but if he did – Mako would think his red string of fate that Bolin tried to convince him was ‘a thing’ was tangled past the point of no return. He wasn’t even sure where to begin in fixing it but distancing himself from anyone that could make it worse seemed like a good start.

At least, for now, Ta Lona was no longer watching him. The Fire Lord’s black-eyed daughter was making her exit after an expectedly dramatic farewell on Wu’s behalf, and even Kadlu had peeled herself up from the couch to give Talo a parting hug. The bodyguard – who had to be the Hachi from Korra’s childhood stories – shot him a half-pitying look as she swept past him to join the princess. This wouldn’t be the last time Prince Wu entertained his Fire Nation counterpart, and she’d made her distaste for him abundantly clear. 

It was going to be a painfully long time before Wu’s Coronation.


	2. Mako Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako obsesses over his conversation with the Crown Princess and realizes how badly he needs to feel needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mako contemplating life was just supposed to be an segue into another scene, but then I got carried away. The next chapter won't take as long to get up. Enjoy.

Fifteen days had passed since the confrontation with the Fire Nation Crown Princess, and for fifteen days, it was the only thing Mako could think about despite his best efforts. Over and over and over again – the scene played out as if his mind was subconsciously searching for a subliminal message.

_“You are as full of yourself as I thought you would be.”_

Her voice echoed beneath every waking thought and had even invaded his dreams. It always started the same. He was with Korra, mimicking a memory from better times, but then the world would begin to shift, and some unseen force tore her from him. He tried desperately to reach her but every night ended in failure. As he chased after the Avatar, he could hear but never see Ta Lona laughing at him, mocking him. 

_Did you even really love her?_ _Can you even love?_ She taunted as he just narrowly missed grabbing hold of Korra’s outstretched hand.

_Selfish. Selfish. Selfish._ The Crown Princess jeered as his legs turned to lead and Korra grew even more distant in the red horizon.

_You failed her._ _You failed them. You failed._ Ta Lona shrieked as he lost sight of the Avatar and collapsed onto the dreamscape ground that turned to quicksand. With Korra lost to him, Mako never struggled to keep himself from sinking.

As the tar-like sands smothered him entirely, he’d wake up drenched in sweat and gasping for air, heart pounding erratically as if trying to escape his chest by any means necessary. This morning in particular his heart was especially determined to flee, perhaps to beat for someone who made better life choices. Still tangled in his bed sheets from a night of tossing and turning, Mako pressed a hand over his racing heart willing it to calm down. His chest expanded with a deep breath that forced as much air into his lungs as possible.

_One._ He held his breath for a count.

_Two_.

_Three_.

_Four_. A dull ache was beginning to form but still he held his breath.

_Five_.

_Six_.

Mako ever so slowly exhaled, hand still pressed against his chest until his heart steadied itself. Having nightmares was nothing new, but he tried not to think about the mornings it was Korra’s hand on his chest instead of his own. The nightmares started after witnessing his parents’ murder, but every so often, the theme of them switched such as the situation now. Fortunately, Bolin slept like the rocks he could bend and never seemed to wake up during one of Mako’s more volatile episodes. If Bolin did have an inkling about Mako’s suffering, it never came up, and so, Mako never had to confide in his younger brother about reliving their parents’ deaths.

Regrettably, Korra hadn’t been as light a sleeper. While he’d never felt comfortable sharing the details of his nightmares, Mako let her partake in what had become an almost daily morning ritual. Maybe he should have told her. Maybe he should have opened up more. Maybe it would have helped. Mako didn’t even know what he needed help _with_ but clearly he needed help with _something_ given the way both his only real relationships had ended. 

Maybe…maybe…Ta Lona had been right. Maybe he was full of himself – just not in the way she seemed to think. Maybe thinking he was the only one that could handle his problems counted as being full of himself. What he knew for certain was that Korra and Asami had never been objects for his entertainment. That was just insulting. He respected them far too much for that to even be a possibility. They were his friends, his family. Other than Bolin, they were the first people he had deeply cared about in a long while.

And now he didn’t have any of them.

With still at least another thirty minutes before needing to get up, Mako rolled over to his side where he could see the last letter Bolin had sent him from the Earth Kingdom on a nightstand. He’d read it again before trying to sleep. His brother had only been gone for a two months, but it felt like an eternity. Mako couldn’t remember a time they’d been apart this long. He’d been worried about Bolin dealing with the separation, but as the time crawled on, Bolin’s letters had simultaneously grown shorter and less frequent but were always packed with enthusiasm for ‘The Cause.’ It hadn’t occurred to Mako that Bolin might be fine without him.

It had seemed even less likely to Mako that he’d be the one struck by the absence, and yet, here he was, endlessly waiting for letters. He hadn’t quite given up hope on hearing back from Korra yet, but he’d written her several times with no response. Tenzin suggested she needed space while she healed. He didn’t blame her, but Mako hadn’t been able to help himself. He missed her. 

Maybe he was selfish. Maybe he should give her more space – as if five letters over a period of three months was over-crowding. Mako didn’t know what to do or how to help or even if he could help. It was probably time to choke down the hard-to-swallow-truth he’d been trying to ignore for the past few weeks. His ‘help’ might not even be wanted. Korra didn’t seem to need him. Bolin didn’t need him. Asami sure didn’t need him. Even Republic City didn’t need him given it was running just fine while he was on babysitting duties instead of acting as a detective. Crimes were still solved. Criminals were still apprehended. Mako never realized how badly he needed to feel needed until now. Feeling needed was such a core part of his being, Mako wasn't sure who he was without that component. The realization was almost embarrassing. 

“Mako!” Prince Wu shrilly called for him from the hallway, banging on the door that separated them. “Mako, I _need_ you!”

Wu was never up this early which meant it might actually be an emergency. In some small way, Mako hoped it might be just so that he’d feel useful. With that small hope in mind, Mako threw himself out of bed and raced to the door before flinging it open. “What? What’s wrong?” Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Mako surveyed the hallway behind the prince to find it vacant and nothing amiss. Of course not. 

“Well aren’t you on edge today,” Wu hummed before holding up two suits on hangers, “do you think I should go with the moss green suit with the gold trim or the jade green suit with the gold trim? This is a very important event today, Mako. We’ll have to do something about those bags under your eyes. You look awful. I mean, really. Are you sure I can’t convince you to get a facial with me later? They have this tea-tree seaweed treatment that works wonders on lifeless, dull skin. Not that I have an issue, but you might want to consider it. You know. For appearance’s sake.” 

Oh, Sweet Spirits. Mako stared down at his assignment, briefly wondering how much trouble he’d be in with Lin for shoving one of the suit’s ascots in his mouth. Just to shut him up. Just for a minute. He wasn’t even technically on duty yet. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to “temporarily” move into a hotel room connected to the Prince’s suit, but Wu insisted, and Wu always seemed to get what he wanted. In all fairness, it was an incredibly nice hotel room, certainly fancier than any place he’d ever lived. However, it still meant being at Wu’s fickle mercy.

“Well? Moss or jade?” Wu wiggled the hangers to get Mako’s attention.

Both suits looked identical to him. Jade…moss…it was all just green. “Uh…jade. You wore moss to the last event?” Mako had no idea of that was even true, but he’d played this game before. If he didn’t give an answer, Wu would insist, and if he didn’t give a reason for his answer, Wu would whine until he got one. It was infinitely easier just to make something up than to be honest that Mako couldn’t care less about the suits.

“Really? Hmm. I thought that was the sage suit. Well, silly me. You’re a real life safer, Mako. See you at breakfast!” And off he went, leaving Mako falling asleep on his feet in the doorway. Naturally, the only person who ‘needed’ him recently didn’t actually need him for anything meaningful.

Mako slipped back into his room, letting the door shut loudly behind him. There wasn’t anyone else on the floor anyway. He dramatically flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The event wasn’t even until six in the evening. At least Wu would be preoccupied with his spa treatments and ‘Princely Prep,’ as Wu liked to call it, for most of the day. The charity event would no doubt run late into the early morning, but he could just lurk in a corner for most of the evening.

His gut clenched at the realization Ta Lona might be there.

In addition to dreaming about her (sort of), he’d spent the last fifteen days debating whether or not he ever wanted to see her again. On one hand, he wanted to confront her, to tell her she was wrong about him. He wasn’t full of himself. He’d loved Korra, and it just didn’t work out. On the other, he was afraid of what might happen if he did confront her. It wasn’t as if he could just swagger up to her and air out his grievances to a princess. Even if he was so bold, Mako wasn’t even sure what he’d say to her. Last time they’d spoken, she’d managed to send him into a downward spiral of nightmares and self-doubt with all of three sentences. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t manage to make things worse during whatever encounter they had next.

Ta Lona’s opinion of him only mattered because she mattered to Kora, which in-and-of-itself should mean that her judgment of him was wrong. Right? If he didn’t care about Korra, he wouldn’t care what her friend thought…but he did care. He cared what Ta Lona thought about him, and it was driving him crazy.

It was absolutely absurd that someone he met only once and spoke with only briefly could have this much power of him. He was determined to fix this. He had to speak to her again, if only for a moment, just to tell her she was wrong about him, and then he could forget about the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation for good.


End file.
